DK Travel : Miami

At its best, Miami is all pastel hues and warm, velvety zephyrs – a tropical reverie. The culture is sensuous and physical, often spiked with Caribbean rhythms and accents. Outdoor activities hold sway throughout the area, at the world-famous beaches and in the turquoise waters; the vibrant nightlife, too, attracts pleasure-seekers, while significant historical sights are around every corner.

Design District

It started out as a pineapple grove, but from the 1920s this zone was being called Decorators’ Row because of the design stores that had moved in. For a while in the ’80s, due to high crime, the area fell on hard times, but things are picking up again, and top-end design, furniture, and fixture shops once again rule. Photographers and artists have been moving here, too, to escape the high rents of South Beach.
Diable En Deuil Botánica

If you want luck or for your lover to behave, there are ways… and this is the place to find them: Haitian powders, potions, and iconographic figures abound, some of them very sexually graphic.
Dinner Key

The name derives from the early days when settlers had picnics here. In the 1930s, Pan American Airways transformed Dinner Key into the busiest seaplane base in the US. It was also the departure point for Amelia Earhart’s doomed roundthe-world flight in 1937. The airline’s sleek Streamline Moderne terminal houses the Miami City Hall, and the hangars are now mostly boatyards, though one is the famous Monty’s Stone Crab Seafood House and Raw Bar. The marina here is now the most prestigious in Miami, so walk along and enjoy inspecting the yachts berthed here.
Divine Trash

All sorts of antiques, art, collectibles, and various found objects. The upbeat, charming proprietor, Donna Ashby, is something of a local celebrity. Don’t miss her orchid garden and the great day spa upstairs (see Jacqué, Inc.).
Dog Racing

While running greyhound races part of the year, Flagler has year-round simulcasting of dog and horse races.
Dolphin Cove

This marine environment research center, set on a lagoon, will literally let you swim with the dolphins – for a high fee. You can go in as a non-swimming observer for a lot less money. Other programs include guided kayaking and snorkeling tours, back country eco-tours, and crocodile tours. By contrast, there’s also a romantic champagne Sunset Cruise on the placid waters of Florida Bay.
Dolphin Mall

More than 200 stores fill Greater Miami’s newest middlerange mall. In part, this is an outlet for such heavy hitters as Saks Fifth Avenue, Brooks Brothers, Giorgio’s et al., but there is also a host of boutiques as well as a 19-screen cineplex at the heart of it all, on the “Ramblas”, where the liveliest eateries are found.
Dolphin Research Center

A not-for-profit concern, whose main function is to research dolphin behavior and provide a rest home for sick and injured dolphins, or those worn out from theme-park living. There are exhibits, regularly scheduled lagoon-side walking tours, and special programs featuring the Atlantic bottlenose dolphins. “Dolphin Encounter” lets you swim and interact with the creatures. Some programs have age or height restrictions and require 30-day advance reservations.
Dolphin Swims

These unforgettable experiences are available at Miami’s Seaquarium and all along the Keys (see Dolphin Research Center). Be sure to make reservations as much as a month in advance. Otherwise, try a Dolphin Watch.
Don Johnson

Miami Vice-roy himself, the King of 1980s Cool helped put hip “new” South Beach on the map (see Miami Beach and Key Biscayne).